Book IV : Kishkindha Kanda - The Empire of Holy
Monkeys

Chapter [Sarga] 48
Verses converted to UTF-8, Nov 09

Introduction

Hanuma's search for Seetha, together with Angada and others is started. They search certain mountains and forests belonging to
Vindhya, but in vain. They enter many uninhabited forests and places. Angada kills a demon presuming him to be Ravana. Their hearts sadden when their
search became futile at these places.

Arriving at a remote place with all of those powerful monkeys, then Hanuma searched the caves and forests of Vindhya Mountains, and on
their mountaintops, at impassable places, at rivers and lakes, and in stands of trees with beamy trees, also on diverse mountains, forests and trees.
[4-48-2, 3]

They are highly tormented when they vainly searched there, and even in another province that is also of the same kind, waterless and
people-less, and an unreachable one, abstrusely caved and forested. [4-48-7]

Whereat the trees are infertile for fruiting, destitute of leaves and flowers, and whereat the brooks are deprived of waters, and
whereat it is highly impossible to get even tubers, there they entered. [4-48-9]

Where there are no buffalos, no elephants, no animals, nor even birds or tigers, or no other forest moving beings are there, for they
do not have their feed there, they entered such a province. [4-48-10]

Where there are no useful trees, nor herbal plants, nor climbing plants on trees, nor creeping plants on earth, and lotus-lakes which
will be normally pleasing for sight have no soft leaves, nor bloomed lotuses on their creepers, and even honeybees are discarding them as they are
not richly fragranced, in such a province those vanara-s have entered. [4-48-11,12a]

A highly fortunate, veracious, ascetically wealthy sage known as Kandu is there in that province, and that great sage is a highly
short-tempered, and an impossible one to subjugate by virtue of his own self-discipline. [4-48-12b, 13a]

But not finding the daughter of Janaka or even her kidnapper Ravana there, those monkeys who are the perfecters of that which is
acceptable to Sugreeva, have entered another fearsome forest. [4-48-16b, 17a]

All of those vanara-s are amazed to see that fiendish demon standing similar to a mountainous boulder, and apprehending an imminent
danger on observing that mountain similar demon, those vanara-s have tightly girthed their wrestler's girdle-cloth. [4-48-18b, 19a]

When that demon breathed his last all of those monkeys with triumphal shimmer have wellnigh searched everywhere, and even in that cave
of that mountain where that demon appeared, presuming that cave belonged to Ravana. [4-48-22b, 23a]

On searching that cave they came out saddened as their search is futile, and coming together they sat down at the base of a lonely
tree downheartedly as their efforts are unsuccessful in searching Seetha. [4-48-24]